Jussi Jääskeläinen

Jussi Jääskeläinen
Personal information
Full name Jussi Albert Jääskeläinen
Date of birth 19 April 1975 (1975-04-19) (age 36)
Place of birth Mikkeli, Finland
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) [1]
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Bolton Wanderers
Number 22
Youth career
Mikkelin Palloilijat
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1992–1995 Mikkelin Palloilijat 64 (0)
1996–1997 Vaasan Palloseura 54 (0)
1997– Bolton Wanderers 476 (0)
National team‡
1998–2010 Finland 56 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:06, 31 December 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 October 2010

Jussi Albert Jääskeläinen (born 19 April 1975 in Mikkeli) is a Finnish football goalkeeper, who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is currently the longest serving foreign player in the Premier League after being at Bolton since 1997.[2]

Contents

Club career

Jääskeläinen was born in Mikkeli, and made his Veikkausliiga debut in Finland for MP Mikkeli in 1992, and became the club's first choice goalkeeper in 1994. In 1996, he moved to VPS Vaasa where he spent two seasons. Jääskeläinen was bought by Bolton Wanderers of the then First Division in 1997. He soon established himself as the club's first choice keeper, though a cruciate ligament injury ruled him out for half of Bolton's 2000–2001 promotion season. The following season, he was voted the best goalkeeper in the Premiership by sponsors Barclaycard. He has also been tracked at his time at Bolton by highly rated clubs such as Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester United and AC Milan. He is also known for saving the first penalty of Ruud van Nistelrooy's career. In addition to this Jussi is a fans' favourite picking up numerous club prizes since his arrival in 1997.

On 13 May 2007, Jääskeläinen received Bolton's "Player of the Year Award" and also the "Players' Player of the Year Award" after helping Bolton secure a UEFA Cup spot for only the second time in their history.[3] Despite much speculation linking him with a move away from Bolton when his contract expired following the 2007–08 season, Jääskeläinen agreed a new four-year contract on 11 June,[4] which he signed on 9 July.[5]

His 400th appearance came against Manchester City on 2 November 2008, with his 400th start coming six days later against Hull City. After twelve years with the club, Jääskeläinen was granted a testimonial match against Hibernian in August 2009 in which he kept a clean sheet.[6][7]

His 500th appearance came against Birmingham City on 12 March 2011 in an FA Cup Quarter-Final and his 500th start a week later at Manchester United.

International career

Jääskeläinen made his debut for Finland on 25 March 1998 against Malta. He was Finland's second choice behind Antti Niemi for years, but after Niemi retired from international football in 2005, Jääskeläinen finally became the Finnish number one. On the 29 October 2009 Jääskeläinen announced his retirement from international football having collected 55 caps for his country. In explaining his decision Jääskeläinen stated that he hoped that it would allow him to prolong his club career.[8][9] However, on 6 October 2010 Jääskeläinen announced his comeback to national team in a match against Hungary as Otto Fredrikson was unable to play because of an injury but confirmed that this was just a one off.[10]

Career statistics

Club

[11][12]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland League Finnish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1992 MP Mikkeli Veikkausliiga 6 0 6 0
1993 6 0 6 0
1994 26 0 26 0
1995 26 0 26 0
MP Mikkeli Total 64 0 64 0
1996 VPS Vaasa Veikkausliiga 27 0 27 0
1997 27 0 27 0
VPS Vaasa Total 54 0 54 0
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1997–98 Bolton Wanderers Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1998–99 Division 1 34 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 40 0
1999–00 36* 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 41 0
2000–01 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 0
2001–02 Premier League 34 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 38 0
2002–03 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 38 0
2003–04 38 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 41 0
2004–05 36 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 40 0
2005–06 38 0 3 0 2 0 5 0 48 0
2006–07 38 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 40 0
2007–08 28 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 35 0
2008–09 38 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 40 0
2009–10 38 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 43 0
2010–11 35 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 38 0
2011–12 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
Bolton Wanderers Total 468 0 21 0 19 0 11 0 519 0
Career total 586 0 21 0 19 0 11 0 637 0
As of 15:26, 09 November 2011 (UTC)

* includes 2 play off matches

Personal life

Jääskeläinen and his wife Tessa have lived in Bolton for 14 years and have three sons together: William aged 14, Emil aged 10 and a 6-year-old named Robin.

References

  1. ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Bolton Wanderers. http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/FirstTeamProfilesDetail/0,,1004~8214,00.html. Retrieved 1 October 2011. 
  2. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/van-persie-given-tantalising-taste-of-what-could-be-6279049.html
  3. ^ Jussi Handed Top Award – Bwfc Official Site
  4. ^ "Jussi agrees Bolton deal". Sky Sports. 2008-06-11. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11672_3676647,00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-11. 
  5. ^ "Bolton duo sign new deals". Sky Sports. 2008-07-09. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11672_3798742,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-09. 
  6. ^ Jussi Granted Testimonial – BWFC Official Site
  7. ^ Jaaskelainen lines up testimonial, BBC Sport, 6 May 2009.
  8. ^ Jussi Calls Time On International Career – Bwfc Official Site
  9. ^ Jääskeläinen tritt zurück (in German)
  10. ^ Call up was a one off - Jussi – Bolton News
  11. ^ "Jussi Jääskeläinen Career Stats". Soccerbase. 28 December 2009. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=13242. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
  12. ^ "Jussi Jääskeläinen Career Stats (2)". national-football-teams.com. 28 December 2009. http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=2451. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 

External links

Bolton Wanderers F.C. – current squad